This invention relates to a floor covering, to floor panels for realizing such floor covering, as well as to a method for manufacturing floor panels.
According to a first aspect, the invention relates to the type of floor covering that is composed of a plurality of hard floor panels, wherein, on the one hand, the floor panels show a common general decor, however, on the other hand, among the floor panels showing the common general decor, also floor panels are present that differ from each other in respect to their appearance and/or as such have zones of a differing appearance, wherein these floor panels, at least at two opposite sides or edges thereof, are provided with coupling parts allowing that two of such floor panels can cooperate with each other at these sides, and wherein at least some of the floor panels possess at least one chamfer, such as a beveled edge or the like, wherein the surfaces of these chamfers are provided, at least partially, with a separately applied decorative covering consisting at least of a decorative layer.
Such type of floor covering is known as such. Herein, the general decor mostly is a wood decor or a stone decor. Mostly, this general decor is formed of several floor panels having a different appearance. So, for example, a floor covering representing an oak plank floor as a general decor, mostly will possess different floor panels representing planks of a different tint or degree of darkness. Also, the color, tint or the like often will vary considerably within the surface of one and the same floor panel.
Also, the application of a chamfer, which is provided with a separately applied decorative covering consisting at least of a decorative layer, is known. According to known embodiments, the decorative layer may consist of a print, for example, by means of transfer printing, or a coloration by means of a color, such as a lacquer or the like. Examples thereof are known, amongst others, from the patent documents WO 01/96688, WO 2004/108436 and US 2005/0076598. From these documents, it is also known to adapt the appearance of the decorative layer on the chamfer to the appearance of the upper side of the floor panels. The technique, known up to now, for realizing such “adaptation” consists in that a so-called global matching is performed and thereby one well-defined fixed appearance for the covering of the chamfer is determined, thus, of a well-defined color and/or with a well-defined fixed pattern, which globally fits best to all floor panels of one and the same global decor. When imitating a wooden plank floor with darker and lighter planks, the chamfers then are provided, for example, with a covering of one and the same color, which, for example, is situated in respect to its tint between the tints of the darker and light planks, by means of which thus a “global adaptation” is performed.